As mentioned earlier
this week, free-to-play turn-based MOBA
Aerena: Clash of Champions has a new premium priced version called
Aerena - Masters Edition. This new edition eschews its former F2P model in favor of asking players to pay upfront for an experience that's ad-free and eliminates the grind. Since
I reviewed Aerena when it first came out and noted the game's somewhat slow progression, I decided to take a look at
Masters Edition to see how well it delivers on its promises.
As it turns out, I found myself able to purchase unlocks including new units, ships, and shells all within playing a couple matches, which is a
big difference from
Clash of Champions. It seems as though
Masters Edition is more generous with its in-game currency in general, making progression feel a lot smoother. In doing so, playing it felt more like a game about crafting a loadout that fits a particular playstyle rather than a game about slapping together whatever units and items are the most affordable.
It is worth noting that with this re-release players can still opt to play
Aerena in its free-to-play form, and both versions of the game allow players to play against one another. Also worth noting is the fact that the free-to-play version offers time-limited trials of new units, whereas the paid version does not. This isn't really a big deal though, since it is easy enough to unlock units in
Masters Edition anyway.
Overall, those that were frustrated by the progression mechanics of Aerena: Clash of Champions in its original form should be pleased with the changes that Aerena - Masters Edition has made. That being said, anyone that wasn't initially compelled by it won't be won over by this new version.
